Platen press



March 16 1926. 1,576,989

A. PAISQUALI ET m.

PLATEN PRES 5 Filed Jan. 2 5 Sheets-Sheet l BROWN kw,

March 16 1926.,

A. PASQUALI ET AL PLATEN PRES 5 Filed Jan. 31, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Alerf 1 42.: yualzl.

Frw7rWPazanz 412 W @mmam. WM 2? March 16 1926.

A. PASQUALI ET AL .PLATEN PRES S Filed Jan. 1. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Alhe z i' l m na/Z0, FrnZWPaZanaZ March 16 1926. 1,576,989

A. PASQUALI ET AL PLATEN PRES S March 16 1926.

A. PASQUALI ET AL PLATEN PRE S S Filed Jan. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES 'ALBEBT PASQUALI AND FRANK W. IPOLAND, WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, AS-

SIGNORS T0 HOOD RUBBER COMPANY, OF

PORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

WATER/TOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR- PLATEN PRESS.

Application filed January 31, 1924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT PASQUALI and FRANK IV. POLAND, citizens of the United States, and residents of lVatertown,

in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Platen Presses, of which the following is a specification.

Our present invention relates to improvements in What are known to the trade as multiple platen presses, and particularly to those of the type used for vuleani'zing rubber articles. These presses are provided with a head and a power operated plunger or ram between Which are located a pinrality of press members or platens corresponding in number to the capacity of the press. The molds containing the articles to be vulcanized are placed upon the press members or platens while the latter are separated ind power turned on to close the press and clamp the molds. As the press members are hollow and heated by steam supplied thereto by suitable flexible connections, vulcanization is effected by reta1n ing the molds in the press for the required length of time. The invention aims to provide a press which may be conveniently controlled by a single operator in such a manner that the press members or platens may be selectively brought to loading position opposite a fixed loading table located at a height convenient to the; operator, whereby the molds may be easily and quickly slid from the table onto the platen to be loaded, and vice versa.

With these and other objects in view, the invention includes the novel features of construction and arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described, the nature and scope of the invention being defined and ascertained by the claims appended hereto. In order that our invention may be more readily understood, we have appended hereto drawings illustrative of such a press in.

which many of the parts familiar to those skilled in the art, are shown in a conventional manner only.

In these drawings 2 Figure 1 is a side elevation of a press constructed in accordance with our said, invention.

lower press Serial Nb. 689,720.

Fig. 2 is a viewtaken at right angles to F 152'. 1, but with the front tie rods 3 omitted.

F g. 3 is a plan view. Figs. 4c, 5 and 6 are detail views showmg1 the position of the lugs 9 9 and 9 an platens in control lever positions II, III and IV respectively.

the corresponding position of the Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of one of the lugs, 9 for exam le. Fig. 9 is a detail view showing platen S in plan, and tie rods 1 and shafts 9 in section. y

The press shown in the drawings comprises upper and lower press members or platens 1 and 2. The upper press member 1 is held in fixed position by means of tie rods 3 connecting it to the base 4, and thus constitutes the press head or thrust sustaining member. The lower press member 2 is supported by a power operated device which in the present case, is shown conventionally as the movable element of a ram 5. The lower member, therefore, constitutes a movable pressing member.

Between the members 1' and 2 are located a plurality of intermediate platens or press member's (conveniently shown as three and numbered respectively 6, 7 and 8) which are provided at their corners with ears or projections 6 7 and 8 which slidinglv engage or abut the tie rods and hold the platens in proper alignment, whereby the member 2 and :mperposeil platens constitute pressing members when the whole are pressed toward the thrust receiving member.

The upper platen 8 is provided at opposite ends with lugs or projections designed to selectively cooperate in the manner hereinafter described with a plurality of abutments 9, 9 and 9 carried'by rotatable vertical rods or shafts 9 located at opposite ends of the press and Journaled in suitable bearings in the press head and base, the corresponding abutments on the two shafts constituting a coacting pair.

Theabutments 9, 9 and 9 are projected from the shaft at difierent degrees of angularity, or on different radii, so that but one abutment of each shaft will engage the corresponding projection 8* at a time, and by turning the shafts simultaneously to the proper angle, any one of the pairs of abutments may be brought into position to cooperate with the .projections 8 of the platen 8. v

For turning the shafts we provide at the top of the machine, a hand lever 10 fulcrumed at 10 at the back of the press and extendin forward to a position within convieniht reach of the operator, and, in fact, directly above the loading table or bench 11. This lever has its intermediate portion pivotally connected to a slide bar 12 which is provided at opposite ends with reversely faced racks 12 which mesh with pinions 9 fast on the upper ends of shafts The press head, at the front, carries a date or bar 13 provided with notches I,

I, III, IV into any one of which the free end of the lever 10 may be dropped, the pivotal connection 10" being designed to permit the slight vertical movement necessary for this purpose, and hence by positioning the lever in any desired notch, the operator may set the press to bring the desired platen to rest with its upper surface at the bench level.

The precise manner in which this is accomplished will be clear from the followin description.

he press head 1 is provided at each corner with apertured lugs 1 in which are slidingly held the vertical rods 14 provided at their lower ends with stops in the shape of nuts 14. These rods likewise pass through apertures in the lugs 6, 7 and 8 and platen 8 is rigidly connected to the rods by nuts 14* engaging opposite faces of the lugs. Rods 14 slidingly engage the platens orpress members 6 and 7 and are provided with stops, flanges or collars bearing against the under side of the platens to limit the downward movement relative to the rods. Preferably we enlarge the rods successively as they pass through the platen ears. The stops or flanges for platen 7 are designated 14, while those for platen 6 take the form of nuts 14.

The platen 6 is provided on opposite sides with apertured lugs 8 aligning with corresponding ln 2 on ress member or platen 2, through which shdably pass bolts 15 having stops at their outer ends, such as bolt heads and nuts respectively, which limit the amount of separation of members 6 and 2, thou h permitting their approach to clamp tie intervening mold under the action of the ram, as does the sliding engagement of the rods the superposed platens. From the foregoing, it is thought that the operation of our improved press will be readily understood, but it may be briefly stated as follows:

Assuming the press to be loaded and closed, and it being desired by the operator to remove the mold from between the lower press member 2 and the platen 6, the operator positions the hand lever 10 so that it engages notch I which turns the vertical shafts 9 so as, to position the abutments or lug members 9 beneath the projections 8 of the platen or member 8, these abutments 9 being the highest of the series. lVhen the ram is lowered, rods 14 slide down until further movement thereof is arrested by the engagement of the lugs 8 with the a utments 9, and similarly, platens or members 7 and 8 slide downwardly relative to said rods until arrested by the abutments 14 and 14, and the lower platen or press member 2 slides down until arrested by the bolts 15, and the parts are so proportioned that platen 2 comes to rest at the bench level, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, at which time the mold containing the cured article can be easily slid out onto the bench or work table and a fresh mold substituted, whereafter the press would be closed. Assuming now that on the next operation it is desired to remove the mold from between platens or members 6 and 7, lever 10 would be shifted to notch II, which would cause the rods to rotate so as to position abutments 9 in line with the projections 8 whereupon the platen 8 would be permitted to descend one step further and the upper surface of platen or member 6 would be arrested at the bench level. If it is desired to remove and replace the mold from between platens 7 and 8 handle member is adjusted to notch or position III which permits the platen 8 to descend another step bringing the upper surface of platen 7 at the bench level. to position IV all of the abutments 9, 9". 9, are out of the paths of the lugs 8 and hence the platen 8 is permitted to descend to the full extent permitted by the stops or nuts on the upper ends of the rods 14 engaging their guide ears 1*, which stops or nuts are so adjusted that this will position the upper surface of platen 8 at the bench level.

lVhen the handle lever is adjusted lVe prefer to make the arbutments 9.

9*, 9 yieldable against upward movement so as to prevent their being broken in case they should accidentally be positioned in alignment with the lugs 8 at the time the press is being closed, and to this end we form them in the shape of pairs of plates. such as shown more in detail in Figs. 7 and 8,'sucl1 pairs of plates being pivotally connected to opposite sides of the squared portions of the shaft members 9 by the pivot pins 1.6, these pairs of plates being nonncctcd at the rear of the shaft by the pin 9 to which is connected a spring 17 seated in a recess in the shaft member, and having its other end secured to a pin or abutment 18. The spring thus tends to hold the abutment plates projected into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 8, so that it will be in platen arresting position, the movement in this direction being limited by the contact of cross pin 9 with the back side of the shaft member, but at the same time the abutment lates are free to move upward against t e tension of the spring, into the position shown in dotted lines in said gure.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim is 1. The combination in a press of the character described, of superposed vertically movable pressing members, a ram for operating said pressing members, and'means for causing any one of said pressing members to come to rest at one and the same determined elevation on complete retraction of the ram.

2. The combination in a press of the character described, of a thrust sustaining memher, a ram coacting therewith, a plurality'of intervening superposed vertically movable pressing members, adapted to be operated.

by said ram, a mold supporting table located at a fixed elevation, and means controllable by the operator for selectively arresting the downward movement of any one of said pressing members at the table level.

3. The combination in a press of the char" acter described, of a thrust sustaining memher, a ram, a plurality of interposed pressing members, means slidingly connecting said pressing members, said means including stops for limiting the amount of separation of the pressing members, aseries of abutments arranged at different fixed elevations, the uppermost pressing member having projections to be selectively engaged by said all abutments, and means for causing any one of said abutments to engage said. projections.

4, The combination in a press of the character described, of a thrust sustaining member, a ram, a .plnrality of interposed pressing members, means slidlngly connectmg said pressing members, said means including stops for limiting the amount of separation of the pressing members, the

member, a ram,

uppermost of said ressing members having pro'ections, vertica l rock shafts having radia ly positioned abutments arranged at difierent elevations, and means for rotating said rock shafts.

5. The combination in a press of the character described, of a thrust sustaining a plurality of interposed pressing members, means slidingly connecting said pressing members, said means including stops for limiting the amount of separation of thepressing members, the uppermost of said pressingvmembers having projections, vertical rock shafts having ra dially positioned abutments arranged at different elevations, gears at the upper ends of said rock shafts, a reciprocating bar carried at the top of the press having racks engaging said gears and a lever for operating said bar.

6. In a press of the character described, a press head, a ram, a plurality of intervening superposed pressing members, sustaining rods rigidly connected to the topmost pressing member and having limited sliding connection with said press head, said rods being extended below said topmost pressing member and being connected with lower pressing members with a limited sliding movement, and means located at diiferent elevations for intercepting the downward movement of said topmost pressing member. In a press of the character described, the combination with a press head and a lower power operated pressing member, of a plurality of interposed pressing members, means connecting said interposed pressing members to each other and to said head with a limited sliding movement, and means connecting said power operated pressing member to the next upper pressing member with a limited sliding movement, and means for arresting the downward movement of the topmost pressing member at different elevations.

In testimony whereof, tures we afiix our signa- Annnnr' PASQUALI, FRANK w. POLAND. 

